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Limited Tort Exceptions Do Not Apply to UIM/UM Claims

Unfortunately, limited tort drivers in PA may not file UIM/UM claims to recover non-economic damages, i.e., pain and suffering, even when there are limited tort exceptions. This is what the PA Supreme Court held in Rump v. Aetna Casualty (Pa. 1998).

In Rump, a limited tort driver was injured in an accident. The at-fault driver was uninsured and operating a vehicle registered in Minnesota. As a result, the limited tort driver filed an uninsured claim with his own insurance company to recover non-economic damages. However, the driver’s insurance company denied the claim arguing that the driver was not eligible to recover non-economic damages because he did not suffer a “serious injury” as defined by PA’s Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law (MVFRL).

The driver claimed that he was entitled to recover non-economic damages because he fell within the two limited tort exceptions set forth in §1705(d)(1) of the MVFRL, i.e., the at-fault driver was uninsured, and the vehicle was registered in another state.

However, the Supreme Court of PA ruled that the exceptions set forth in §1705(d)(1)(i) – (iv) do not apply in UIM/UM claims due to the limiting language in another section of the MVFRL. Thus, even though there were limited tort exceptions that would allow the limited tort driver to recover non-economic damages in a third party action, those exceptions would not apply in UIM/UM claims.

However, the court pointed out that the limited tort driver could still file a UM claim if he suffered a “serious injury.” In general, when there are no applicable limited tort exceptions, injured limited tort drivers may seek non-economic damages if they sustained a “serious injury.” The MVFRL defines a “serious injury” as “[a] personal injury resulting in death, serious impairment of body function or permanent serious disfigurement.”

Thus, if the limited tort driver in Rump suffered a “serious injury,” he would have been able to file a UM claim to recover non-economic damages.

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